Help! 18th birthday present ideas needed!

DPs son is 18 in March. It sounds odd but I don't know him that well - he is quite independent, often not around...DP and I don't live together either so although I think I know him pretty well through talking to DP about him, we haven't actually spent much time together. I have generally fallen back on 'tokens' for presents in the past and these have gone down well but I would like to be a bit more imaginative for his 18th. Now, of course, I could ask DP but I would like to demonstrate my fabulous ability to choose just the right present......without help!

Any suggestions? It will be a gift from me only and so I have a budget of roughly £50 I thought. He is quite sporty (rugby, skiing etc) and quite sociable. Will be off to uni this autumn.....

Please help me appear soooooo in tune with 'young people' (I have a DS but he is a bit younger) and thoughtful!

We got a caricature drawn for a relative's 18th birthday recently. You need a photo of them and some suggestions of their interests etc. Would recommend it as it's something a bit special and will last a lifetime!

Boys are very, very hard, but my mum had great success in buying an 18th present for my son. She wanted to give him something he would keep, not clothes he would chuck away (or money that he would drink ).

She got him a pair of silver cufflinks with his initials on them. I can't imagine when he will wear them (though he has suddenly started wearing the occasional shirt), but he was surprisingly delighted , especially by the fact that she had got them specially engraved.

The caricature is a great idea. I must have a look around here to see if anyone does it.

I bought my son a rather posh hip flask (No more than £40) which I had engraved with his initials. Not that he drinks spirits and it was not my intention to encourage him but it was something he could keep. He loved it and as Maryz says, it was the engraving which seemed to go down particularly well.

We have done the cuff links option too. If your DPS already wears cufflinks so doesn't need anymore what about a cuff links box. We got a leather one for a friend's son and had his initials embossed on the top and he seemed to like it. Have a look on street.com Boys are definitely more difficult as you can always buy jewellery for girls.

How about a Swiss Army Knife? You can get them engraved and they come in lots of different price ranges. They are timeless and useful, DS got one for his christening and I gave one to my godson at his confirmation recently.

Swiss army knife is a good idea, as are the cufflinks.Back in the day people used to give engraved tankards, didn't they ? but they just kind of sit on the shelf gathering dust.Nothing useful to add just marking my spot really so I can crib other people's good ideas.

These are great ideas! (I have been unable to access my MN account for a couple of days - sob!)

I had thought about a hip flask - I think it would go down OK with his mother (hm.....) - I had also thought about a Swiss Army knife having been in shops selling skiing gear and seen them and I am very interested in everyone's take on that. I wasn't sure how good an idea it was but it seems that it is a very good one so I think that might be the way to go.

Cufflinks are also a good idea - if I could find some really cool ones I think they might go down well too.

You are so right that girls are easier on these kinds of occasions..... so typically DP has another son so I will store up these suggestions for future reference!

My DS on the other hand will be simple (of course!) but the budget will be bigger and so that helps....and with my DD, when she eventually gets there, I will be spoiled for choice apart from the fact that she is so un materialistic I will be forcing stuff on her!

I really like the engraving idea - might have to check with DP whether the whole set of initials or just two would be good - though I do want to appear so very very clever (me? Get my ideas from MN?) and for it to be a surprise.

We just had an 18th birthday in the family, and like you, I wanted the gift to be 'just right' so I could demonstrate how cool and 'down with the kids' I am.....sad?? Me?? Oh yes!! so amongst other things we got tickets to see Michael McIntyre. <short lived smug face!> Went down a storm. Have a look on the ticket master website?

Can I suggest as a step-parent that maybe it would be better not to go down the drink route (shot glasses/flask).

I know my kids would like them, but I also know that I would be a bit upset if anyone gave such a thing to ds1 (because he has some addiction problems). So it might be better to check with the residential parent if these types of things would cause offence to be taken (better to avoid offence if at all possible).

Also, I assume you have checked what his parents have given him? I tried to make sure that there weren't doubles of "things to keep" for my son, so one watch, one pair of cufflinks. Again avoiding conflict.

I don't like the cufflinks you linked to, but that could just be me personally - I'm not sure it's the 'right' gift for an adult to be giving a young lad - it would be better to get some with something that shows you know him personally - a football or his club emblem, or a music clef or a chess board or some little motorbikes or whateve he is in to. Naked ladies smacks a bit of "I'm trying to be down with the yoof" to me. No offence - just my opinion.

No offence taken - the cufflinks were a VERY tongue in cheek joke - I would NOT have bought them in a million years. Though I do like Paul Smith stuff on the whole - I'd probably go for a scarf if anything! DPs son does do the 'dinner jacket' kind of stuff from time to time so I might save the idea of cufflinks for nextXmas - there were some really nice, not very expensive (and tasteful!) ones on the Notonthehighstreet website.

I am, on the whole, set on the idea of a Swiss Army knife - DP will approve being an outdoorsy, camping kind of person and so is his son. I know what DP is buying him and I suspect his ex will buy something quite large so I am safe re 'doubles' so far. Good point re checking the approval of the ex though - it is a bit of a minefield but, again, she is a very outdoorsy person too so I think she will be OK.

Hi not sure what kind of things he may be into or whether you have bought the present but up to the 31st March you can buy a deposit for the Reading Festival for £50. I bought this for my Son (16) at Christmas and he was over the moon although he now needs to pay the balance! which is not cheap approx (£150.00) but luckily he works so has been able to afford it.